World Bike Girl (and a special friend) to visit Milton Keynes today

Sammy Jones

She has pedalled across the Andes, cycled through the Pantanal Jungle, and biked Che Guevara’s final footsteps.

And now World Bike Girl Ishbel Holmes is coming to Milton Keynes.

Ishbel is cycling into Stony Stratford today, for a speaking event at Twenty3c Bike Shop.

She won’t be alone though – Ishbel has a special friend travelling alongside her – rescue dog Maria.

“She was a street dog in Marataizes, a seaside town surrounded by pineapple plantatations. She stole my heart,” said Ishbel.

“She only had a couple of weeks to live as she was dying of tick disease. My social media followers raised the money for her medical costs and to get her to the UK.”

Ishbel, a Scottish-Iranian former velodrome sprinter for Iran, loves the freedom that travelling offers her.

“I love being able to do what I want when I want – I answer to no-one.

“I’ve found travelling by bicycle broke down the most barriers to being a tourist and local culture,” she said.

While cycling the world, she has rescued lots of street dogs – and the odd cat!

Ishbel has now written the powerful memoir ‘Me, My Bike and Lucy’.

It is a journey of self-discovery sparked by her love for Lucy, the first street dog she rescued while cycling across Turkey, and the parallels to her experiences of foster care, homelessness, and being unwanted.

“The talk will resonate with cyclists, outoor enthusiasts, animal lovers and anyone who has struggled,” she says.